Jayne Gautreau

About: Born and raised in Northern Ireland, Jayne has lived in Douglas County since 2007. She met her husband at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago when she came over to study as an exchange student in 1998. They married in Northern Ireland in December 2000 but have made their home in the United States ever since.

Jayne is a tea-drinking, chocolate-loving mama, which helps her to “keep calm and carry on.” Being a mom has brought some challenges her way, but it is also shaping her into the person she was created to be, as she learns and grows along the way.

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I had noticed recently that our front yard had been starting to look a little neglected. Lots of weeds were starting to sprout up through the bark mulch. I decided to spend some time out there working in the yard while my son was napping. It was a beautiful, sunny day; a breeze was blowing, so it was perfect for yard work.

As I started to pull weeds, the task seemed somewhat tedious. It started getting a little hard to bend down, and there were many more weeds than I had originally thought. Little tiny ones, some that were starting to grow around the bottom of the plants, some that were pricklier to pull.

But that time outside just by myself gave me some thinking time. It made me think of how we need to often pull weeds in our own lives.

Weeds can grow in our own hearts, whether they are weeds that we have planted ourselves or maybe weeds we have allowed others to plant. Weeds of lies, deception, failure, fear, bad habits and unhealthy relationships; all these weeds can start growing very quickly. They start to spread... and then they start to grow around the base of our hearts, choking and stopping growth.

The task of weeding out these areas of our lives can also be tedious and painful. It can take time to weed, and it may even take the help of others to help with the weeding process.

God has been showing me recently how there have been some weeds that I have allowed to grow in my heart, weeds that have caused me to believe lies about myself. These lies have affected me as a mother, wife, friend and child of God.

As I have begun the process of weeding my own heart, it has not been easy. I have been surprised that those weeds have spread, or that some were even there. The process of weeding takes a little time; some of it hurts, as I've had to figure out where and how they had grown in my heart.

I am now aware that just like my own front yard, those weeds will grow again, so I need to be alert for those weeds to start sprouting.

This will be a continual process. I don't want those weeds to grow again, so I need to take steps to prevent their growth. Enlisting the guidance of friends for accountability and prayer helps with the process of prevention.

I didn’t get completely finished with my front yard weeding because my baby was waking up, and the older boys were getting back from school, but my yard was starting to look pretty. I could better see the plants that my husband had taken the time to plant.

When I weed my life of the stuff that stunts my growth and takes over my life, I can grow. I am also able to be the beautiful person, wife, mother and friend that God has intended me to be!